_Cornwall_ thereupon ceased fire, expecting the enemy to strike his colours, but he did not do so. So _Cornwall_ closed about 5,000 yards and gave her a few more salvoes of lyddite. At a quarter to eight there was a loud explosion on board _Leipzig_ and her mainmast went over the side. At 8:12, it was of course dark by now, she sent up signals of distress. Both _Cornwall_ and _Glasgow_ now lowered boats as fast as they could be repaired and manned, but they were not able to reach the enemy until after 9 o’clock, and before they did so the ship turned over and sank. Only six officers and nine men were rescued from the water. Heavy as the casualties must have been, there were in all probability more than these unwounded at the end of the action, and all of those not killed, wounded as well as unwounded, might have been saved, for the ship was not actually in a sinking condition from _Cornwall_ and _Glasgow’s_ fire, and had been sunk by the orders of her own officers.
_Cornwall_ was hit eighteen times, but did not suffer a single casualty. _Glasgow_ had one man killed and five wounded. One of the _Leipzig’s_ officers said that from a quarter past six till seven, that is when the range had been brought down to about 7,000 yards, some rounds out of every salvo fired hit the ship. The effect of the lyddite appears to have been appalling. Men were blown to pieces and the ship was littered with ghastly fragments and relics of humanity. When the ship could reply no more, for there was no ammunition left for such guns as might still have been worked, the captain called the survivors together and said any one who liked could go and haul the flag down, but he would not do it. Nor did any one volunteer. About fifty jumped overboard, and when the ship sent up signals of distress there were only eighteen left alive on board. All but one of them were saved.
“A report was received at 11:27 A.M. from H.M.S. _Bristol_ that three ships of the enemy, probably transports or colliers, had appeared off Port Pleasant. The _Bristol_ was ordered to take the _Macedonia_ under his orders and destroy the transports.
“H.M.S. _Macedonia_ reports that only two ships, steamships _Baden_ and _Santa Isabel_, were present; both ships were sunk after the removal of the crew.”